Hitman 2

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates for Hitman 2 with the Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 show a clear and predictable progression as resolution increases. At 1080p with Ultra settings, the combo produces 92.5 FPS. Moving to 1440p at the same preset drops the average to 60.7 FPS, a reduction of roughly 34%. At 4K Ultra, the average falls further to 31.8 FPS, which is about 66% below the 1080p figure. This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the frame rate loss from 1440p to 4K is proportionally larger than the drop from 1080p to 1440p.

When examining the Low preset, the trend is even more pronounced. The system achieves 224.9 FPS at 1080p Low, 143.5 FPS at 1440p Low, and 79.4 FPS at 4K Low. The transition from 1080p to 1440p reduces performance by 36%, while going from 1440p to 4K cuts it by another 45%. This steep decline at 4K Low, despite the relatively light graphics load, suggests that the RTX 3080's 10 GB of GDDR6X memory and 320-bit bus are being taxed heavily by the pixel count, even with simpler shading workloads.

The Medium preset shows a similar pattern: 169.3 FPS at 1080p, 111.8 FPS at 1440p, and 59.8 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 34%, and from 1440p to 4K is 46%. High settings follow suit with 129.2 FPS at 1080p, 82.7 FPS at 1440p, and 43.1 FPS at 4K. Across all presets, the consistent ~45% reduction when moving from 1440p to 4K indicates that the rendering pipeline is bottlenecked by the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth at 4K, rather than by CPU throughput. The data shows that 1080p and 1440p are where this combo delivers its most playable results, while 4K requires significant settings compromises.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is built on the Ampere architecture with a GA102 chip manufactured on Samsung's 8 nm process. It carries 8704 shading units, 272 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output units. The memory subsystem consists of 10 GB of GDDR6X on a 320-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s. The card's base clock is 1440 MHz with a boost clock of 1710 MHz. These specifications directly influence the measured frame rates in Hitman 2.

At 1080p, the GPU's raw compute power is sufficient to push frame rates well above 200 FPS on Low settings, reaching 224.9 FPS. The pixel rate of 164.2 GPixel/s and texture rate of 465.1 GTexel/s are more than adequate for the game's geometry and lighting at this resolution. However, as resolution climbs to 4K, the pixel count quadruples, and the GPU's fill rate becomes the limiting factor. The 4K Ultra result of 31.8 FPS is only about a third of the 1080p Ultra figure, demonstrating that the RTX 3080's resources are saturated by the increased pixel workload.

The VRAM capacity of 10 GB is another consideration. Hitman 2's environments, with their dense crowd simulations and detailed textures, can consume significant memory at high resolutions and settings. The step from High to Ultra at 4K costs 11.3 FPS (from 43.1 to 31.8), which may partially reflect memory pressure beyond just raw compute. The card's memory clock of 1188 MHz, translating to 19 Gbps effective, provides the bandwidth needed for 1440p gaming but shows strain at 4K Ultra. Benchmark results place the RTX 3080 in the 80th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35787, putting it in the upper tier of graphics cards for this game's generation.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on which preset offers the best balance of visual quality and playability. At 1080p, the Ultra preset delivers 92.5 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. High settings at 1080p yield 129.2 FPS, and Medium reaches 169.3 FPS. For players with 1080p displays, Ultra is the recommended choice as it maintains a high frame rate while offering the most detailed visuals.

For 1440p, the High preset produces 82.7 FPS, which is comfortably playable and close to the 1080p Ultra experience. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 60.7 FPS, which is still acceptable for many players but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. Medium at 1440p gives 111.8 FPS, providing a smoother experience at the cost of some visual fidelity. The data suggests that High at 1440p is the sweet spot for this combo, offering a strong balance between frame rate and image quality.

At 4K, the situation is more constrained. The Ultra preset's 31.8 FPS is below the ideal playable range, and even High settings at 43.1 FPS may feel sluggish for action-heavy stealth sequences. The Medium preset at 59.8 FPS approaches the 60 FPS target and would be the recommended starting point for 4K gaming with this hardware. Low settings at 4K reach 79.4 FPS, which is playable but sacrifices many of the visual features that make Hitman 2's detailed environments stand out. For the best overall experience, 1440p High is the recommended configuration, with 1080p Ultra as a strong alternative for those prioritizing visual fidelity over resolution.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this combo at 1080p?

A: The highest measured average FPS at 1080p is 224.9 FPS, achieved with the Low preset. The Ultra preset at 1080p delivers 92.5 FPS.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra performance compare to 1080p Ultra?

A: At 4K Ultra, the combo averages 31.8 FPS, while at 1080p Ultra it reaches 92.5 FPS. This represents a performance reduction of approximately 66% when moving from 1080p to 4K.

Q: Which settings preset provides the smoothest experience at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 1440p delivers 111.8 FPS, which is the highest frame rate among the presets measured at this resolution. High settings at 1440p produce 82.7 FPS.

Q: Is the RTX 3080's memory configuration sufficient for 4K gaming in Hitman 2?

A: The 10 GB of GDDR6X memory with 760.3 GB/s bandwidth supports 4K at Medium settings (59.8 FPS) and even High settings (43.1 FPS), but Ultra at 4K drops to 31.8 FPS, indicating that the memory subsystem may be a contributing factor to the performance ceiling at this resolution.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations for this game?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700KF with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 ranks 579th out of 1795 tested combos for Hitman 2, placing it in the upper third of all configurations.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its nearest rivals in general benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700KF has an average benchmark score of 70104, which is nearly identical to the Intel Core i7-14700K at 70074 (0% delta). It sits very close to the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X at 70420 (-0.4% delta) and the AMD EPYC 9115 at 69887 (0.3% delta).

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 holds a rank of 579 out of 1795 tested combinations for Hitman 2. This places the configuration in the 68th percentile among all tested combos, meaning it outperforms roughly two-thirds of the systems in the database for this specific game. The ranking reflects the balance between the CPU's strong multi-threaded performance and the GPU's capable, though not top-tier, 4K throughput.

Given that the RTX 3080 sits in the 80th percentile among all GPUs and the i7-14700KF ranks in the 96th percentile among all CPUs, the combo's overall rank of 579 suggests that Hitman 2 is somewhat more GPU-bound than CPU-bound for this pairing. The game's stealth mechanics and detailed environments place heavy demands on the graphics subsystem, particularly at higher resolutions. The measured 4K Ultra result of 31.8 FPS is consistent with this interpretation, as it shows the GPU struggling to maintain high frame rates under maximum load.

In the context of the broader database, this combo is well-positioned for 1080p and 1440p gaming, as demonstrated by the 92.5 FPS at 1080p Ultra and 82.7 FPS at 1440p High. The rank of 579 out of 1795 indicates that while there are many more powerful combinations, this setup delivers solid, reliable performance for Hitman 2 without requiring extreme hardware investments. The data shows a configuration that is neither overkill for the game's demands nor insufficient for mainstream play.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 10 nm process. It features a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, with a 125 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 33 MB of shared L3 cache. This CPU supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, and it ranks in the 96th percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 70104.

In Hitman 2, the CPU's role is less dominant than the GPU, but it still matters, particularly at lower resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 224.9 FPS, which is high enough that the CPU's single-thread performance becomes relevant. The processor's single-core scores—633 in Cinebench R15, 2641 in Cinebench R20, and 6290 in Cinebench R23—indicate strong per-thread capability that supports high frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios. The boost clock of 5.60 GHz is particularly valuable for maintaining smooth frame pacing in the game's crowded public areas where AI calculations occur.

The multi-core performance is equally robust, with scores of 18713 in Cinebench R20 and 44557 in Cinebench R23. These results support the game's background simulation and physics, which can utilize multiple threads. However, the measured frame rates show that as resolution increases, the CPU's influence diminishes. The gap between 1080p Low (224.9 FPS) and 4K Low (79.4 FPS) is largely attributable to GPU load, not CPU limitations. In the nearest rivals comparison, the i7-14700KF's avg score of 70104 is within 0.4% of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (70420) and within 0.3% of the AMD EPYC 9115 (69887), confirming that the CPU's performance is competitive with top-tier alternatives for this workload.